Difficult game to even bring your team up after the game. You're up 10. Didn't finish. Didn't finish, had opportunities. As I mentioned, I went for it on fourth and 2 thinking that that would certainly give after the long drive and the amount of time used up in the drive, I thought that that was the play at the time, I still do. Obviously we didn't score there, we had an interception there. They drove, kicked field goal and then we didn't do anything with the ball again. So we have a four minute offense, we're expected to end the game with the ball in our hands, we haven't done that. We ended up kicking the ball back and the other team scores. We get in overtime, they drive it down, we stop them, they kick field goal, we drive it down, we're in field goal range, but I was thinking more touchdown to be honest with you. I was not thinking field goal and we left ourselves a long field goal and for whatever reason we missed it. I think that's the first one that Josh has missed all year.
I do think you got to score more than 20 points to win in this league and we got an outstanding special teams play, but, again, did not finish. Had the lead 20-10 and lost the ball, again.
Q: You said you'd stand by that decision. A 13-point lead usually something you take making them need to score two touchdowns?
A: Well, yeah make them score two touchdowns to beat you, but that same token if we scored there 4th and 2 then we push the score up to where maybe they can't beat us with whatever. So we're up 17. I stand by it.
Q: In 41 minutes they didn't score two touchdowns so what made you think they could do that in 7 minutes?
A: What made us, me feel like who?
Q: If you kicked a field goal, you're up 13. They hadn't scored two touchdowns at that point…
A: I thought that was the play. I thought that was the play
*Q: What made you think they would score two touchdowns in the last nine minutes? *
A: Did you see them do it? That's what made me think it.
Q: No, they kicked a field goal…
A: Yeah, but they were down there. How do you know what they would've done? They would've scored or they would've tried anyway. You can argue all you want.
Q: Randle on that interception there, it looked like he just stopped his route?
A: I'd have to look at the tape. I can't tell you that.
Q: You said it's hard to bring a team up after that. What were you describing there? Was that the scene in the locker room?
A: Well it's difficult. Again, our team put a lot into this. They worked very hard for this. They worked very hard for this. They had outstanding practices on Wednesday and Thursday. We were in good position to win the game, we didn't win the game, we didn't finish it, we didn't win it. So it was a lot of disappointment, obviously.
Q: This obviously isn't the first time your defense had issues in the 4th quarter late in the game, but do you think they're just wearing down in those situations?
A: I just think we keep sitting there saying, 'Let's make a play. Let's make a play. Let's make a play.' There was a couple of tipped balls late in the game there that might've ended up, could very well have ended up as interceptions. That's part of your thinking too, maybe you get a turnover.
Q: You have given up the winning points prior to today three times in the last ten seconds of the game and then lose today in overtime. Is there a way to characterize or put into perspective how difficult the season has been?
A: We've been in position to win games and we haven't won. I'm taking full responsibility for that. But still, we're there. As I told the team, we've got to find a way to finish a game… to win a sixty minute game and be in position at the end of the game to win it. It seems like back and forth we do have opportunities even offensively to end the game before they get the ball on the final drive and we hadn't been able to do that.
*Q: Can you talk your offensive line and how they performed today? You had a lot of rookie parts out there today. *
A: It's obvious that we were going to run the ball or try to run it and we did. We did try to run it. I haven't seen the tape but [Bobby Hart] did a respectable job I'm sure. He went out there and battled, he's been in a lot of big games as a young player, he's only going to get better. We had to obviously go to him and we did and I think he certainly held his own.
*Q: Any update on [Ereck] Flowers? *
A: No one has reported anything to me, no.
*Q: …Jason Pierre Paul moving around throughout the game? *
A: It was just to put him on both sides, to use him on both sides.
*Q: Does the way your defense has been playing and giving up these longer drives affect you and the way you coach and some of the decisions that you make? *
A: Well obviously I have made a decision to be very aggressive at the end of the games, I've done it all year long. I don't have a lot to show for it. We've tried to do that. We try to take some of the pressure off of everybody and had we scored that touchdown, fourth and two, I think we would have taken a lot of pressure off.
Q: All week, it's been about the inability to finish – another situation here today. How do you digest that whole thing?
:A It's tough. Losing sucks. Not finishing sucks, but that was the case today and all we can do is move forward.
Q: Did you feel like this game was secure? Did you feel like you had it in your hands?
:A For sure, yeah. I thought we were going to come out with the win – a much needed win. Rival, non-rival scenario, any of that, but we didn't get it though.
Q: Was it frustration when you kicked the ball there in overtime?
:A No. If I would've thrown it back, I really don't see the difference. If you kick the ball back, it's not like I'm screaming F-bombs and kicking the ball back. You kick it back to the huddle and we go to the fourth and two play. I really don't think it's a penalty, but it's not my job to make calls.
Q: How frustrating is this getting with so many losses like this this year down to the wire?
:A It's unfortunate. These are the games we've been in all year and it's the reason we're 5-7. It's the difference between being 10-2, 9-3; it's game like this. Like I said, you just keep moving forward and learn from it.
Q: Do you feel like no matter what you do out there – you can do a lot of great things – you still can't get the W?
:A I should've caught the ball in the end zone; it could have been a touchdown there. We could've had touchdowns down at the goal line. There are so many plays that can happen or don't happen, or should happen and didn't happen, and what could you do besides keep playing? You keep playing, and you make as many plays as you can, and hopefully the team with the most plays made comes out on top, and we just didn't do a great job of finishing today.
Q: Were you surprised at passing up on the field goal to take the 13-point lead?
:A No, I don't think it was the wrong call. We just need to execute, come out and score. We've been stuffed at the goal line all year. I don't really think it was a bad call.
Q: How much of an effect did you have, waiving the field goal team back to the sideline before the timeout?
:A I have no idea. We are all just sitting there waiting to see what the call is going to be. We decided to go for it and we didn't get it - you get on defense, you play defense, you make stops. You can never let plays determine the outcome of a game, unless they are plays that are in the fourth quarter with seconds, no time on the clock; that's the only way. You just have to keep fighting through anything.
Q: How surprised were you that Josh Brown missed the field goal in overtime?
:A We have one of the best kickers in the league. We didn't hit it today; we didn't connect. That is something that, time and time again, if the game is on the line I would still put "Three" [Josh Brown] out there to kick a field goal because he is going to make it, 9.9 times out of ten. This was the one. It's all good. Keep moving forward.
Q: What happened on your third down play in OT, before the kick?
:A I don't know. You run the route, you try to connect … It's funny, we get a penalty for kicking the ball down there and you have a safety who is trying to make a hit on you. Calls go this way, calls go this way; it's something you can't worry about.
Q: Did that ball go through your hands?
:A Were you watching? It wasn't a completion, that's all I know. I think the next play we got a first down, so that's pretty irrelevant too. Like I said, we lost, you have to keep moving forward.
Q: What's been so challenging to the offense this year for you in the red zone, in the green zone, where you just can't get that touchdown pass?
A: We've just got to find ways to execute a little better down there. We made some plays and for whatever reason, that's where the penalties seemed to come out also. We got penalties, get sacked, and we'd start going backwards and get ourselves in some bad situations. Today, we got close on a number of them. We got down to the one-yard line once and went for it on third down. We got down to the one and couldn't turn it in, so next time we got there, we had a fourth and one from the four-yard line and they had good coverage and played us well. We're just not making plays we need to down there.
Q: On that drive where you threw the interception, right before that, was there an opportunity to throw the ball away or end up taking the sack instead?
A: Yeah, just tough. We had a little play-action trying to get either Dwayne or get Odell – they played both the guys well. I kind of came back to my third option and it was one of those deals where you wanted to throw the ball away, but you've just got to find a place to throw the ball away sometimes. My third option, if I could have found him and thrown it maybe over his head, but at that point, it was just a little too late.
Q: On that fourth and two from the four-yard line, were you surprised that Tom decided to go for it? And then what happened on that play?
A: It was an opportunity for us to get the three-score lead and go up 17 with limited time left. It was a chance to win the game right there. They had good coverage and they played it well. We had decent pressure and not really any time to scramble around, or get to my last option to the running back. You're just in a bad situation at that point, whether you try and take a sack or throw it away. Do you give a guy a shot and maybe it pops up our way. Obviously it was intercepted and didn't have much of an opportunity right there.
Q: When you think about, for a moment, the entire season, and for you guys, this is not the first fourth-quarter lead that's gone away, is it possible to even just put it into words how that feels?
A: It seems like most of the losses have come that way. Besides the Philadelphia game, they got after us good, in every other one, we've had an opportunity. We've had opportunities, we've had chances, we've been right there in the mix. It's in the last drive or within the last drives. We've just got to find ways to make critical plays in the game and in the fourth quarter, and we haven't been able to make enough of them to win these tight games.
Q: On the fourth and two, you guys were up 10. Did you think you were just going to kick a field goal and go up by 13?
A: I didn't know what the circumstances were. To try to go up 17 right there is a great opportunity to extend the lead. It didn't work out, but that's football. We've got to do a better job and execute a little better there.
Q: You've been around long enough to know the kind of criticism coaches take under these circumstances. Do you feel like Coach Coughlin is going to take a lot of undeserved criticism about today's decisions, including the fourth and two?
A: We got down there earlier and kicked a field goal, and got down a second time with a chance to win the game. It may not win the game right there, but extend the lead and give yourself three scores. I like the call. I think it's the right call. I think we need to execute. We've got to put it in right there and we didn't do it.
Q: Do you think at some point these results when they keep happening, when you try as much as you can and you're failing, does that get to a team after a while and do you almost expect it, to fail?
A: No, we don't expect it. I think we expect to go out there and win the game. We expect to make the plays when we need to and it's just the way things have bounced this year. And hopefully we'll have the opportunity to fix that and hopefully no matter what happens today with other teams, we're still going to have an opportunity and we're still going to have a chance to win some games, but obviously opportunities are running limited and we need to find ways to win some games.
Q: When does the process begin for you to put a game like this behind you and start to look at next week?
A: We'll look at the film tomorrow—look at what we need to do, what we need to clean up. How I can play better. How I can improve my game. And start Tuesday getting prepared for Miami.
Q: Will this sit with you tonight, then?
A: Yeah, I'm sure. I'll watch it tonight as well. So I'll watch the film to see if there are some things I could have done better, there always is, but see where I could have made some better plays, some better reads and put us in a better position to win the game.
Q: Did you get out of this one, health-wise, okay?
A: Yeah, fixed up. I always get banged up a little bit, but yeah, should be fine.
Q: Did you get looked at? X-ray-wise?
A: I did, but everything's good.
Q: When you look at that fourth and four and you get the timeout over there, what kind of input are you giving in terms of what type of plays you think could work at that point?
A: Yeah, you know, just right there you're trying to guess what the defense is going to do and whether they're going to play you the kind of the coverage they played, kind of two high safeties and play like a four man or they're going to come after you with an all-out blitz or what their game plan was and trying to get, trying to have two plays for both of them or be able to get to a check. You know they had a good coverage and played it well.
Q: Of the fourth quarter losses you've had this year, is this one particularly more frustrating considering the fact that A—you really had even more golden opportunities to put this one away, and B—it's the team you lost to.
A: No, I think it's just the circumstances of where we are in the season and you kind of just hope that we've lost enough tough ones for a season and they weren't going to keep coming and we put that behind us and found a way to win these close games and unfortunately, just couldn't make that happen tonight.
Q: I know you have to watch the film, but your early read on how the offensive line—you had a lot of changes in there today—played.
A: We had some new guys in there, but I think they played tough against a good defensive line. They hung in there and did a good job and picked up things, we made checks. I think we were running our offense effectively, hit some big plays, did some good things, but you know some guys stepped up. Bobby Hart stepped up playing right tackle, [Justin] Pugh having to move out to left tackle and Dallas [Reynolds] had to come in and play guard, so we had some guys moving around, but I thought they competed hard and did a good job.
Q: You had a scramble on a third down, took a shot, you didn't quite make it, you took a shot, I think it was from [David] Harris. Is that where you got shaken up a little bit?
A: No, that was good.
Q: What were the x-rays for?
A: Just to see if anything was broken, but all good. You can ask Coach [Coughlin] about it. Ask T.C. about it
Q: How do you guys bounce back from this? What are the emotions right now?
A: Tough loss --- I don't know what to say. [We] just need to go look at film and see where we made our mistakes. We played well --- we just didn't finish the game.
Q: It seemed like early on in this game you guys were getting probably a more consistent pass rush then we've seen all year. What was going right for you guys in that first half?
A: We were just working together as one, as a team. We were communicating better than we normally do and we worked on it all week in practice and guys were just getting after it.
Q: Can you take us through that final drive in regulation?
A: I don't even remember the final drive. I'm just pissed off.
Q: We saw you on the left side more than we have seen this year. Did that have to do with your plant hand?
A: I just left it all week. I play both sides so it doesn't matter to me. I feel comfortably, I repped it all week and my coach wanted me to try it out and I did pretty well over there so you will see me back and forth. There is no set spot for me so I'm just letting that known right now.
Q: They ran a lot of screens and underneath passes. Was that what you guys anticipated?
A: Yeah we just didn't stop it. They played a heck of a game, hats off to them.
Q: How frustrating is this knowing you had a 10 point lead late?
A: Very frustrating. That is why we are going to go back and look at the film and correct what we need to correct,
Q: You have been on defenses that can finish games and finish drives --- what is the difference here? What are you guys not doing?
A: I don't know. We have to look at the film. We played a good game, everyone played well. Me personally as long as everyone is giving 110 percent I'm fine with it. I gave 110 percent today and I walked off that field knowing that I did my job.
Q: Do you still feel like there is time left?
A: There are a lot of games to be played so just move on to the next game and take it one game at a time.
Q: Do you think that anyone on the defense is thinking about earlier games in season when they couldn't hold the lead?
A: Those games are over. We had a chance to win those games and we didn't. I wish I was here earlier but I'm here not but those games are in the past and we have got to move on to the next game and move forward --- up next is basically it for us.
Q: How surprised were you that Josh missed a field goal when he hasn't missed all season?
A: Things happen man, it's football --- 9 times out of 10 he will make that, he just didn't. It wasn't his fault that we lost the game we should have played much better.
Q: Anything different for you personally playing on the left side?
A: No it is no different --- I repped it all week and that is what side I have decided to go on but you will see me back and forth this Sunday.
Q: Is it easier to do that with the club?
A: I rush both sides in practice. I just stayed over to the left because my coach wanted me to today.
Q: Did you feel any of the emotions of the rivalry out there?
A: At the end of the day it is a rivalry, whatever you want to call it. I was out there playing football trying to win a game but we fell short today so I am pissed off. I am going to go home and watch the film when it comes up on my Ipad and see where I can get better and help other players and as a D-line that is what we need.KICKER JOSH BROWN
Q: Was it just a bad hit?
A: Yeah, just a bad hit. I just have to keep my head down, look through the ball and there's nothing else I can do about it. I have to keep striking the same ball. I had made everything; kicking well. I just have to hit that ball like I do every other one. I just didn't get through it like I needed to. It trailed left and stayed just left of the upright.
Q: You knew right away?
A: The moment I hit it.
Q: At the start of the overtime, you had gone out to do some practice kicking, but the officials wouldn't let you. Do they usually do that?
A: No. Especially in overtime, I've always been able to go out and kick a couple of balls and maybe work on operation. There were never any rules made aware to us that we were not able to do that. But they were pretty adamant about not doing that.
Q: So you hadn't kicked for a long time?
A: No I was kicking into the net and I was always a little loose, like I always have been and always do, very prepared. It's just a matter of staying with it and getting through the ball.
Q: Can you take us through the operation on that?
A: The operation was fine. It was a matter of getting through the ball and keeping my head down. I just didn't hit it like I like to and the ball trailed a little left. It's gotta stay consistent.
Q: You try to kick the ball the same. You don't try to think about time in game or what the repercussions are.
A: No. You try to keep the same rhythm as a PAT (point after touchdown) because everything is the same. But unfortunately on that one, I didn't strike the ball the way I wanted to and it just tailed left. Had that been a 46-yarder, it would have been just enough. But it wasn't.
Q: You never want to miss a kick, but if you miss one in the first quarter of a game and win by 15 points, is that okay?
A: A "W" forgives a lot of things. But this is painful. We had that game in hand. We have to the opportunities we are given and I didn't make my opportunity. I try not to be negative at all. I just concentrate on being consistent and in rhythm at all times.
CB PRINCE AMUKAMARA
Q: Do you guys feel like "oh no, not again"? What's the feeling?
A: No, we want to finish the game. We want it to be third down, fourth down. We want to get a turnover and win the game basically. But, we just didn't make it happen for whatever reason.
Q: What do you think was missing those last two - you guys had been playing so well defensively until those last two drives in regulation and obviously in overtime it wasn't the same.
A: I'm going to have to look at the film. All I know is what was happening on my side, I don't even know what was happening to them. We were in a lot of Man. We just have to win. Win our battles, win on man - mono e' mono.
Q: When you're against a big, tall wide receiver like Marshall, what's the technique? How do you deal with a player like that when you know they've gone to him on jump ball scenarios?
A: Referring to the last touchdown, it just sucks because I knew that play was coming so that's why I played off and I thought it would neglect Fitzpatrick from throwing it but he's going to believe in his guy more than me. He threw it to the perfect spot and Marshall is big guy, he boxed me out. But, those are the plays I have to make and just prove to my team that I can make those plays and I came up short. No doubt, that was a key play in the game and I lost that battle.
Q: Looking back, would you have done it the same way?
A: Great question, [Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie] was telling me if I could have pressed and disrupted timing. I probably would have played the same way but just have been a little bit more outside because he threw it. He just lobbed it up and kind of thew it to the back shoulder.
Q: I know you weren't around the earlier games but the defense has given up fourth quarter leads a lot this season, when you're out there do you sense anything different when you get to the fourth quarter - the style of play, the feeling on the field?
A: I don't know if you see us on the sideline, but the fourth quarter up everyone puts one hand up, one finger up. That just means 'hey, let's take it up another notch, let's take it up another level.' We're vowing to each other, 'hey, I'm going to take it up another level.' We just believe in each other and just take it up another level. Why we're not finishing in the second half? I couldn't tell you. That's coaches job. I mean of course, I have my opinion, but I'm not going to share it with you.DL CULLEN JENKINS
Q: Defense obviously had a chance in the fourth quarter to put the game away. You gave up a couple long drives. Were you wearing down at that point or breakdowns? What happened?
A: Everything. Obviously everything. We had a 10-point lead and we just couldn't get off the field, we couldn't get the stops we needed.
Q: They seemed to run a lot of screens. Is that what you guys saw and anticipated that they would run against you?
A: Yeah, we had studied that, we had talked about that. We knew coming in that that was going to happen. Some of them we played well, there were a couple of them that they got on us.
Q: It's happened before, obviously. Can you put your finger on why you guys can't get those fourth quarter stops?
A: If I could figure it out, then we would be standing here in a different tone and a lot better mood, but just can't figure it out.
Q: Is there a fine line between the mistakes, the uncharacteristic, undisciplined errors? Are those the fine line between wins and losses?
A: Yeah. You can't have that many mistakes, you can't have that many missed opportunities, you can't have the same thing every week. We come in and we get in position, we make mistakes, missed assignments, missed opportunities, all of it. It's just something that I don't understand, it has to become more of a priority to us. It's got to be something that we get solved, it can't be something that we try to fix. It's something that you either fix or you go on. We just aren't fixing it. It's frustrating.
Q: You get the 20-10 lead and as a defense you stopped them for most of the game. Did you feel pretty good at that point or were you at all worried about things that have happened in the past?
A: Not necessarily worrying about it, but you're saying, 'Okay, this is where we have to get over this hump. This is where we have to finish. This is where we have to close it out.' And we come in and we say it to each other at halftime, talk about it on the sidelines, 'Let's go out and finish, let's go out and do this,' and we don't.
Q: Were you surprised coach went for it, the touchdown, or at least the first down, on fourth and two, instead of the easy field goal?
A: No, I wasn't surprised. He was showing faith in us and that's what you want. As a player, you should want to have that opportunity to put the game away. You should want the coach to have faith in you to be able to go out there and get the job done. And coach showed faith in us and he gave us an opportunity and that's got to be something we cash in on. We score a touchdown there and you're up three possessions.
Q: So much talk going into this game was there wasn't a rivalry. Why did it feel like there was that much more emotion out there on the field?
A: Well, it's December, you've got two teams fighting for the right to continue to play into January. We're both right there on the edge, and it's a game that both teams needed to win.
Q: You've got Josh Brown out there kicking that field goal and he hasn't missed all year. Did it pretty much feel like you were going to get that one?
A: Yeah, we were getting ready, as a defense, to go out and continue to play. Josh has been kicking great all year. He missed one today, we can't put that on Josh because he's been kicking his tail off this whole year. That's a game that shouldn't even come down to that, we should have put that game away earlier, we had all second half to put that game away. It shouldn't even come down to that. I feel bad for him right now because people remember stuff like that, but it shouldn't even come down to that. He's been kicking his tail off all year. DE ROBERT AYERS
Q: Robert it seemed like you were rotating a lot of guys in and out on the line, was that a plan did you feel that really helped you guys in terms of trying to switch it up?
A: We do that every week […] plays a lot, I play a lot, JPP plays a lot, Damontre [Moore], Nikita Whitlock plays a lot, [Jay] Bromley plays a lot, everybody plays a lot. That's the game plan every week. That's what we do every week.
Q: Those last two drives in regulation you guys played so well defensive is there anything specific that you think went well?
A: We executed sometimes, and sometimes we didn't execute. They made the plays they needed to win and we didn't. We let the opportunity slipped out of our hands.
Q: Fourth quarter defense is tough at times, do you guys feel you were you down at all?
A: I don't worry about our resume, about what we do in the past. I just worry what we do today. We had opportunities to win and we needed to make plays and we didn't make plays and they made plays to win the game at the end so you know, what we did in other game don't matter. This game is all that matters right now so were going to watch this film and learn from it and get ready to try and get a win next week.
Q: ….You're still very much alive in this thing.
A: Thank you very much. I don't know the outcome of whoever else in the NFC East but the focus is to be on top of it first and the worst we can be is in second so we just got to put our head down and keep working and prepare for next week.
Q: When you get into these situations (since it's happened a few times before), is there any panic or nervousness that happens?
A: We just gotta handle the business. We gotta make plays when we need to make plays. We gotta do what we need to do. Execute the play that's called. And you know we just got to do that. We take one game at a time. All that stuff that happened in the past that's irrelevant. What we do today is all we care about and that's all were going to care about until we get the opportunity to prepare for the next team. I don't care about nothing else but winning this one game that we just played. I never think about anything else, all I care about is one play, one snap, one game. That's all it's about. I don't look at the big picture. I look at what we got to do and the opportunity that we had today and we didn't get the job done.
Q: When we look at film in preparation for your next game, what do you look for, does that cause you to reflect back on the game?
A: I'm going to reflect back on this game against the New York Jets. I'm going to look at it and learn from my mistakes. I'm going to look at our positives and try and correct them and get better for next week. We got a big game next and that's all were going to do. The routine is the same every week that's how we go about business. That's how professionals work. You handle what you can handle and you get ready for the next one so that's what we're going to do.
A: I keep saying it, they're always close games. We've got to learn how to close them out and we're going to learn from it. At some point, we've got to execute on learning from it. We can't keep losing games, we've got to score some points in the second half. Defense is playing great and we gave them momentum. We've got to do a better job of that.
Q: With eight-nine minutes to go, fourth and two—are you surprised you guys went for it there instead of kicking the field goal?
A: We score, game's over. We score, the game is over. It's a weird drive, all the penalties and things of that nature going on. But to get down, we've got to finish it with six and I had all the confidence that we were about to score on that play. I go out there and play, I don't make the decisions.
Q: What about Josh Brown? He hadn't missed all year.
A: I mean he's an unbelievable kicker and we've got to put him in a better spot and a better position. You put him at the 30-yard line and that's a tough kick to make with the conditions and everything. We've got to go down and score, we've got to go win the game.
Q: When he misses, though, does it almost complete the second half collapse for you guys?
A: Yeah. We shouldn't have been in that position. We shouldn't have had to put him in that position. We should have been able to score some points in the second half. We've got to do a better job of that. We've got to get back and thank God our division is in the position it's in because Dallas beats the Redskins tomorrow, we're still tied for first place. So I'll be cheering for Dallas hard tomorrow, that's for damn sure.
Q: As an offense, you guys obviously don't want to put your defense back on the field in that game. You guys had one of those three and outs a couple times you've had this year at the end of the game. Why can't you guys—that drive specifically or in general—seem to get those first downs when you need them to stay on the field late in the game?
A: It's something that I don't have the exact answer to. If I had the answer, we wouldn't be sitting here asking the questions about it. We've got to do a better job of finishing. Like I've said before, we're going to learn from it, we're going to learn from it. I can only say it so many times, you've got to go out there and execute. We've got to score in the green zone when we get down there. We've got to score and get points. It's tough to put your defense in that position and I feel like we could have done more in that second half, for sure.
Q: How did you feel out there, it's your first game in a few weeks?
A: Felt great, felt great the whole time. Just trying to get back to being out there. I didn't care where I was at. It was kind of a curve ball being there at left tackle, but I've done it before. Felt very comfortable. There were a couple times I got some penalties that's uncharacteristic that I wish would have done better with those. That's something that hurts our offense. I'll lock it in, I'll be ready to go.
Q: Does any of this become mental late in these games?
A: Late in these games, does it become mental? I don't know, we've closed some out. We've done some good things in the close ones, but it just feels like we've got to push through and get these close ones. There are so many games—you look back at our season, we could have easily gone the other way and be sitting at a very good standing as opposed to 5-7. It's something that you have to get better at right now. If we don't get better at it, we're not going to be able to make that final push and get to where we need to go. It's a lot of us coming together and finishing strong and we've got to make sure we keep each other up. Someone's got to step up and make plays. As an offense, we have to do our job.
Q: How damaging are these close losses, just the losses in general for the season?
A: Definitely disheartening. There hasn't really been a game, I guess besides the Philly game and last week, that we haven't had a legit shot to win at the end of the game. To become the team that we want to become and to go where we want to go, we have to win these games and that's just the matter of fact. Like I said before, I keep saying, we've got to learn from it, we've got to learn from it. We've learned from it, we've got to go out there and do it now. There's no more time to sit around and say, 'Oh, it's going to get better.' It hasn't, so something has got to change right now.
Q: Is the inconsistency in the run game becoming an issue? That fourth and two play, in an ideal situation, I think you guys would like to lean on it?
A: Yeah. At the same time, we've been successful throwing the ball on them in the game. I don't know what our average yard per carry was, but I feel like we were getting some pretty good chunk yardage running the ball. Obviously, there were a few where we've got to do better, we've got to eliminate those negative impact or negative yardage runs. There's a lot of things we need to get better, it's not just one thing.
